Kaya is off sneaking around and defining the edge of the Vargr territory, which seems to extend to the northern lake of Asvald. Beyond that is the Savage Lands but it is a gradual transition. It seems the Vargr intend to take over the lands within that transition right up until the great north where there is little more than ice. Basically once the trees stop growing, that is the edge of the Vargr’s intended territory. Conquering all of that land would make them the largest tribe in the world I’m sure.
In terms of fighting the Vargr specifically, they do have a lot of champions around the area due to their culture practically spawning them as a rite of passage. They’re not quite on par with crow folk on average but the sheer number of great warriors is notable. It is also notable that there are no crow folk here in the north. Apparently it was one of the first groups Haleh had hunted down and mercilessly slaughtered, she may have a bit of a grudge with them from the plains.
As for cold clothing, what we gave to Kaya is…I will call it sufficient. She still complains that its cold and definitely still needs fires. Though I’m not sure if anything can be done to truly mitigate it.
So the thing is…dragging up raw materials with the basket is kind of hard. There is also still the matter of not over harvesting our own forest here on the island in that process. Going over the idea of defensive structures and better buildings with the Xiaoshen and the Pride reveals that we will need a lot of trees. Given that the tribe doesn’t want to over-use the gryphons who already had issues bringing up heavy stuff, it will be difficult to construct anything actually defensive up here until we resolve that issue.
As for building atop the lake, I am sure there is something we could grow in the lake itself that would provide food…I just have no idea what grows underwater that we could realistically harvest.
We have built some tent shelters around our bee hives to help keep at least the wind at bay to alleviate the cold on them if only just a little. Though Kaya reports there is a source of honey here in the north, the natives use it to make their strange drink. It might be worth seeing what kind of bees they have around here.
Ah what clans are we dealing with. A reasonable question to ask, especially now that we have our scrying pool, and even Tehanau to help with scouting. Surely there are many things we know. Are you sure you don’t want to learn details bit by bit so we can deal with one problem at a time as we encounter them? No? You really want everything right now while we’re already getting our bearings with how much we know?
So… clans…there are a lot of them. Mostly smaller so I’ll focus on some major notes, largely from initial scoutings and the scrying pool. We may not know every detail but we have learned a lot since we arrived.
The Wolf clan is dead now, despite being the major clan we heard about before getting here. Their legacy still plays a large part in what is happening though. They were originally loners and very similar to The Dozen in the way they operated. Eventually they started to work closer with the Vargr for the benefits of having a tribe to back them up when things get out of hand…so The Dozen. After supposedly killing the king Haleh wiped them out too with one exception. Their defeat turned Haleh into a legend among the Vargr and is why most do not have any issue with taking orders from a foreigner. She is now revered as a warrior queen and people like that kind of thing around here. I still say sending our leaders to fight is a bad idea though.
To the west is the Hedin clan, living along a lakeside. They are the home of the Vargr’s shaman experts and often are the ending step in a Vargr shaman’s journey to become a full fledged shaman. They are…aggressive for shamans. Hakenu’e is generally more of a ‘don’t mess with me and I won’t mess with you’ type of guy. The Hedin are more of the ‘lets fight right now’ type of guys. They believe Haleh’s power to control living animals to be the pinnacle of their own type of magic and consider her one of the greatest shamans in the north. What is strange is that they were not the ones to train Haleh in her current shaman abilities nor did they train Icno, who is another of the greatest shamans in the territory. Supposedly. Anyways, the Hedin are very fond of Haleh for the aforementioned reasons. This village keeps others near it in check as they know the Hedin’s loyalties and the Hedin’s love for attacking things.
They are led by Hamund, Walks by Moonlight. I can’t help but notice you may need to kill him for the naming rights. Hamund is, as the clan might have given away, a very powerful shaman. He has the beast form that our shamans do, though remember how the Vargr seemed to have learned how to have multiple totem bindings? I have no idea what binding Hamund has, or if they fused together. Either way he is a physical threat as well as a spiritual one. We don’t know the full scope of his abilities, though he is known for having a lot of ominous visions. He has also personally defeated four dozen champions in Vargr duels having only lost a handful of times. Notably he lost outright to Haleh, which has perhaps played a role in the Hedin’s reverence towards her.
Basically, the leader of the war shamans is himself a very powerful war shaman. Who would have seen that coming? He only respects people that duel him, doesn’t need them to win, just needs them to try. Supposedly he should be on Hakenue’s level as a shaman. Which is either inaccurate or frightening since he is considered only the fourth greatest shaman in the White Lands. Inaccurate because Haleh shouldn’t count, they don’t realize her powers are not based in shamanism and she lucked out on having an extremely powerful totem spirit. Frightening because the next two ahead of him are Icno and Eerihild.
I will remind you, shamanism is a unique practice that can take on many forms. Different does not mean stronger, even if they are stronger than me it may not be by as vast a margin as you imagine. Eerihild can use lightning in ways that defy my knowledge of the ability, but she cannot use it in the way I do which is has its own uses. Jula also has many abilities they might not have ever seen. The diversity of shamanism comes from its close ties to the spirits, and every spirit can be very different.
Back on topic. Another important clan is in the northeast by another lake, known as the Asvald. It was formed by taking the second or third strongest champions from every other clan within the Vargr and composing an elite clan whose sole purpose is to conquer new territory. Behind them will be other clans to do things like building, hunting, and gathering. But the Asvald go first into dangerous new territory. They have the most resources and not a single member among them is less than a champion. Every member of them has a personal warbeast from Haleh. Apparently part of the tradition was that only warbeasts who won a duel against another warbeast would qualify to be a mount for the Asvald.
They are led by Chief Asa. One of Haleh’s direct apprentices in the art of riding. She’s the best on beastback in the north with the exception of Haleh herself. Though that still puts her quite a bit behind Hassan, who had a lifetime of riding experience to call upon. Though she is still dangerous and has had specialized equipment crafted for her to perform this role in combat. I am very curious as to who made her that bone armor and weaponry. I must consume them and steal their knowledge.
Asa is really not that mean or aggressive. She’s just proud and blindly loyal. People like her because she’s so easy to get along with. She has skills but not power. Without being a true born Chanai, her ability to control her beast is definitely a lot different than those we have fought before. Though she is excellent with whatever that weird spear is. Notably, her bones are not enchanted like ours so despite appearances she is not as powerful as so many bones might imply.
That being said, she is still the leader of the elite Asvald clan. I’m still not sure how or what she did to get that position. I think there is something to her we don’t know and should not be taken lightly despite how lighthearted she is herself.
Next we have the Dead Clan as they call it. Because Ragniva is an exile but has enough followers to be considered a clan despite having no real standing name to give to them. So they are just known as the Dead Clan. They’re all necromancers and help control the vast army of the undead that she has at her disposal. This is the largest group we have ever encountered by body count. The horde numbers in the hundreds upon hundreds, even if the actual living among them are only half the size of an average clan. They apparently mastered the art of permanently animating the dead. Kind of like our bone guardian but they have an easier way to do it than just enchanting bones with a very powerful ritual. It seems every member of her clan can animate bodies on a whim and the best among them can create monstrosities of ‘spare parts’. This is why the Dead Clan are so important to the Vargr, it gives them an uncountable mass of bodies to send into war that grows with every battle yet requires no food or shelter. That being said, the undead are a lot less dangerous than a true warrior. Its just the sheer overwhelming number backed up by Ragniva herself that makes it hard to combat. Also her zombies can sprint, so running away doesn’t work.
The Vargr as a clan instead of a tribe consists of Haleh in particular. Though they are actually loyal to the king not the queen. They are mostly those talented in long voyages to manage all the other clans the Vargr hold in their domain. There are a few great and proud warriors among them, but they play very minor roles compared to Hedin, Asvald, and The Dead Clan. Were not for what we know about Haleh, they would be important as the central managers of the tribe.
There exists another clan the scrying pool revealed to us that few among the Vargr even know about. A sort of secret clan made up of members from other clans. The Chanai. A group who have pledged loyalty to Haleh instead of Hoskuld, and are fully aware of how the Vargr actually work. They don’t bear her name formally, though they all share a tattoo so they can recognize each other. The oddest part is the tattoo is like none we’ve seen, it is very intricate and difficult for anyone to imagine drawing multiple times to perfection. This clan keeps the Vargr under Haleh’s control and the clan Vargr itself is being slowly bled of its power by the hidden Chanai clan.
This is all we know of the Vargr so far.
On to the Thorin clan. They’re the home of Losvir, the Standing Stone. He is the main resistance against Haleh. He is fully aware of what Haleh is doing to the Vargr and doesn’t appreciate it. Though his problem solving for this situation is “just defeat the Vargr”. Not the most nuanced approach, but he has become the representation of those who stand against Haleh. As a result he found himself allied with others who don’t like Haleh, as well as several smaller non-Vargr clans who just don’t want to be conquered, thus inadvertently forming an alliance that is on the verge of becoming a tribe itself. The Thorin have powerful shamans though not quite as mighty as the Hedin. Just as aggressive though. They became the face of the alliance because Haleh hasn’t figured out how to kill Losvir yet. We also have no idea what his durability is tied to. He’s not quite like a crow, they still take damage but shrug it off. It seems like nothing can actually hurt Losvir at all, and he lacks their overwhelming physical strength. Still plenty strong, just not Nihaul strong.
The Volsung are another of the resisting clans to help Thorin in traveling the land to try and fight off the Vargr’s invasions or liberate their already conquered villages. They are considered witches by many and few would want to be their ally. It just so happens that Losvir isn’t picky with who he associates. They really just like to be left alone, and the Vargr aren’t leaving them alone. Though they held out for a long time, they were defeated by the Asvald and forced to flee their ancestral home. So now they’re out for revenge even if they are weakened. However, because they are one of the few clans that are not shamans it is worth noting their existence.
They are lead by Haki. The newcomer to power ever since the battle with the Vargr killed the former chief. Their clan elected to appoint the greatest warrior among themselves as the new chief during this time of war. They have an odd system, apparently they rotate chiefs all the time based on whatever immediate problem they want solved. Haki is kind of like a northern Alihana really. He loves magic and the study of it, he also has abilities no one really understands. Among them is that he can induce cold onto all in his presence, similar to the plague sight. It bypasses clothes and he can cripple even northerners with it as they succumb to the chill. Unlike Alihana, it is not based on what he can see but proximity to himself. It helps that he’s really good with a spear too so he has no problem getting up close. His most powerful ability is to melt ice and match it to his own body temperature. In the White Lands, it means his people never go thirsty. Also he cannot feel cold. Which you’ll notice is a common ability among the magic users of this land.
Kawil found something along the eastern mountain range, there exists a…uh… clan known as the Ivor. They are lead by a powerful elven druid whose origins are unknown. She is the only elf in the clan, but the clan itself is composed of misfits. Somewhat similar to the Huanacan. Instead of being directly related, they just banded together. They have demons, weird creatures, an elf, several orcs from the plains who fled north found a home with the Ivor.
Led by Ashyln, who is clearly not an Akoa elf judging by her lack of thick. She is perhaps as talented in druidic arts as the demon druids we faced, at least the weakest among them. Not quite a Dalyn or Esin situation. That still makes her the strongest druid in the White Lands, a convenient place for her to live since druids can withstand the cold. She doesn’t shapeshift, but has the unique ability to control water. Apparently all this white stuff is water, because she controls that too. You can see how she became known as a threat. No Vargr lives near mountains because she has destroyed one of the Vargr clans by making something they call an ‘avalanche’. I am told it is the most destructive thing anyone in the north has ever witnessed, and no one survived. She can also control animals and such.
She is currently trapped along the mountains because she is a direct threat and rival to Haleh. Haleh isn’t foolish enough to attack her on the mountainside, but Ashlyn is not dumb enough to leave the only thing she has protecting her. In an open field she has no chance against Haleh so she can’t leave, but Haleh can’t defeat her whole clan while the threat of this ‘avalanche’ is constantly available to Ashlyn. We have no idea which of the two has the stronger power of domination, but if they were to collide it would weaken either side’s major asset.
I don’t have confirmation from the pool or our scouts, but there have been two mentions of a mythical clan from two different sources that implies I should mention it. Supposedly there is a “clan” known as the “Lost Blue Clan”. It isn’t really described as a clan, more like a group of people who have notable similarities to each other. The story is that the clan was wiped out generations ago. Those of the Lost Blue Clan are born as shamans and do not need to learn the art. They just pop out of their mothers already wielding spirit totems and seeing dead things. The marker of this lineage is white hair and blue eyes. This is where the myth gets muddy, because Haleh achieved white hair and blue eyes when she became a high shaman. We also know that Icno bears these physical features but is a foreigner…and one of the four strongest shamans. Different villagers will give you different explanations as to why that is if it was a originally an inherited feature. Ranging from a mysterious force living in the north that is the true greatest shaman in the world but rarely reveals itself or takes on students, to the transformation being something the Lost Blue Clan were just born without needing to learn. Another theory is that those who achieve the Lost Blue features are those who managed to learn shamanism from a lingering spirit of that clan, or that the lost blue clan’s descendents are the only ones capable of doing this and that they weren’t actually born with the power but had to undergo the clan’s secret rite of passage. You get the idea, no one really knows what is going on with these super shamans.
However, there exists a shaman in the north who was born with these features. Eerihild, you know that shaman born with a wolf aspect who didn’t know she was a shaman and was then able to figure out lightning just by seeing Hakenu’e do it? However, if all this is true there is another person of note among the north. Hallvard also has these features yet no seeming knowledge of shamanism.
There are two more mythical clans. Supposedly there is another lost clan who had purple eyes and whose skin was cracking like a stone trying to contain an immense evil. We know this is the crow folk, and before Haleh came they were regarded as something special…this also means that the north barely understands what the crow folk are. They have no idea who the King of Crows is apparently. To be fair, the only reason we know he actually exists is because Xacalli met him and we had to deal with those cannibals for years. They were few and far between, and Haleh made a deliberate point of wiping them out wherever they might be. Out here in the White Lands, they weren’t a known element to every clan and Haleh hasn’t bothered to correct the myth other than to make it clear they should be reported to her so she can deal with it. Apparently allowing the legend of them to persist has done well for her reputation as that means she has killed many mythical figures including the Great Wolf and the descendants of the Lost Evil.
The other rumored clan has such concrete details that are shared among so many that I’m pretty sure its a real one. They are known as the “Erland” clan. Supposedly they live hidden within the eastern mountains. A place no one really goes poking around because of people like Ragniva and Ashyln. Since no one goes there, no one hunts there either. So now its also filled with monsters, some of which are loyal to Ashyln so people can’t figure out what poking will accidentally bring them to war with her. It is said that they are a group who know how to make all the wondrous items of the land that no one knows where they come from. Particularly weapons and armor. Their many creations sometimes fall down the mountain and are found by the natives, others claim to have received it directly from one of them when they come down from the mountains to wander around for food in the winter. Either way, everyone attributes the best tools to the Erland Clan and their reputation is known across the entire White Lands. I’m pretty sure they’re real to some capacity because if someone else was making this stuff they’d definitely be taking full credit for it. I wouldn’t shut up if I made all this stuff. I do make all this stuff for us and I don’t shut up about it.
Moving on! We sent a rider to the Rahana, we’ll…hear back from them someday hopefully.
It turns out Tehanau and Lukia do not remotely understand the bone spells. I spent two weeks trying to teach them the most basic thing and they couldn’t really grasp the basics. Most importantly, how to channel their power into the magic. They are not talented enchanters I can say.
Made some bones, handed them out. Gave Silas the nicest one. Moving on.
Tehanau found other stuff I went over while looking for Eerihild. Though as for Eerihild herself, it has been very difficult to find her. Tehanau thinks she is in hiding to avoid Haleh mounting an attack on her own terms. Though we have found signs of carnage that are attributed to her. Villages have had to call upon riders from the Vargr to protect the village because supposedly Eerihild is in the east mauling anything and everything that she can get her hands on. We’re not sure why, though she has gone truly mad with bloodlust. Sightings of the Great Wolf, who we know is a spirit bound to Eerihild, have been told about destroying village populations. There are dead champions laying in the forest where it appears they dueled such a wolf. Women are laying dead in scores out in the forests where they looked for berries and other plants, and dozens upon dozens of children have just gone missing entirely. Warbeasts have been killed and barely any of them eaten all over the eastern area. While we cannot say all of this is Eerihild, that seems to be the running belief of the village people. We also have reason to believe Eerihild has turned to the crow’s ritual as of late.
I think she’s just attacking the Vargr in any capacity she can from any angle she can. Hoping to eventually weaken the tribe so much that she can strike a meaningful blow. She has no allies anymore and must challenge a force unlike anything ever encountered in the form of Haleh.
Aaaaanyways. Lukia also found that flower you wanted her to look for. Very easily actually. It turns out druids have a knack for this kind of thing. She hasn’t returned to the island from scouting yet, but she has a bunch of it. So far she says eating it doesn’t taste good so we still don’t know what its for.
As your advisor I must remind you we last saw that our lost relative was being recalled to the Vargr Village to help defend it from….well us, on Haleh’s orders. We are unlikely to find her in the mountains. That being said she is still in transit and if you have a plan for that…it is very trivially, laughably, comically, and stupidly easy to find her. There is a number higher than I can fathom of undead animations marching across the snow, I swear I can see it from up here. The dark spot over yonder that moves a bit every day. I think that’s her. Just a hunch.
As for Alihana’s recovery, Xacalli has nothing to speed that up. She describes it as not being a truly physical illness. She could help with the recovery of the symptoms, but her long sleep is beyond us to do anything about. This is actually more of a shaman thing.
To be honest you should not have let her do that. Its like her spirit was torn asunder, for all I can tell she is dead. Sawiri informs me this is the normal recovery process but if you could see what I can you would never let her do this again. It looks like she shapeshifted her spirit the way druids do their body, and formed it entirely of spikes and teeth that tried to tear its way out of her body. Imagine putting a wolverine in a waterskin, that’s what her soul looks like right now. Trapped between life and death as she tries to prevent her soul from leaking out of said waterskin and disappearing into whatever awaits beyond forever. In the name of Auwana, I cannot fathom out how she has survived doing this twice before. I would say that Xiomac, who Xacalli exploded from the inside, has a better chance of waking up than she does.
Be silent wolf. She will live.
I don’t think you understand what she has done to herself. If she-
I said be silent. My sister is the greatest of all the legends to ever walk this world, she will not die without taking half of it with her.
Immune might be a bit of a stretch. Though we have been able to send out those who are resistant to the cold for a shorter venture. Mostly the gnolls.
When it comes to monsters of the north we have learned something about Haleh’s frost tyrant…as apparently everyone in the north knows about that thing. It is one of a kind and no one knows where it came from. It was known to wander the north and no one knows what it actually eats. Though its quite big and could easily destroy a clan if it got a little peckish. That’s the bit everyone knows, other monsters happen to have more insight.
The frost tyrant’s name is Vandrad. They are…particularly strong. This is a beast that could comfortably challenge a chimera or a hydra. It has the ability to spew a blizzard from its mouth so they say, similar to a wyverns breath but…cold instead of hot. It is the size of an elephant and unlike similarly large monsters can sprint extremely fast.
Vandrad is an omnivore. Most people think its a predator but its perfectly fine eating trees, which there are plenty of. Apparently before Haleh came along, it was known for just wandering the north snacking on whatever it came across. It is completely intelligent and speaks the language of monsters as well as humans. Which means one of two things. Either Haleh can now dominate anything, or that she didn’t need to in order to enlist Vandrad’s aid. It is known to have always had a rivalry with the Great Wolf. Apparently with the Great Wolf slain it is now the big beast of the north, undisputed. No one is sure why its working with the Vargr, it doesn’t need food from them given its ability to eat practically anything. Its personality is described as devious. Having a way with words that monsters do not often possess. There is also apparently a myth that anyone who can slay it will be cursed. I have a hunch Vandrad started that rumor.
We also recruited a few odd monsters here and there purely by merit of “we don’t live in a hole” and “you won’t be hunted”. Among them includes a some creatures who are good in the snow. Though we have elected to let them settle into the village up here before we actually deploy them for anything further since that was what enticed them to our clan. Among them most notably includes a dire sabretooth, a frost troll, and a frost elemental.
Kennae has been having a rough time foraging out here. He isn’t used to snow and even giving him our set of warm clothes he is…well not good with cold. He spends most of his time by fires or trying to sit in the sun.
Esin sent Harakino to take the gryphons with them back to the Akoa, Esin herself didn’t want to leave pride village so early into the winter. It is worth remembering that Esin is a druid and immune to the cold, so she’s been doing a lot of the work around her village on her own.
The driders were already making blankets and warm things with the Xiaoshen, though their silk is not the best at retaining heat by comparison to hides.
As for a heatstone, Sawiri mentions they need creatures aligned to fire to do so. Which is why the only one we have is the fire of Auwana, made from the bones of the wyvern that once inhabited this island..
As for your own abilities…its hard to tell. You have a tendency to just blow things up and I don’t know how much more it could evolve beyond that.
Also our clanmates can attempt studying with Kawil, though judging by Maxhui from the Nezatl, learning druidism is difficult. Though the current druids around the island have made some stuff we’re keeping in jars that should help against any future poisons. They did pointedly mention that it wouldn’t stop whatever Esin’s venom is. No one seems to know what she’s using or why its so incredibly potent.
Lokala’i has taken to visit the villages and engage in some casual dueling. He won half of them. It is worth noting that Lokala’i is on par with the travelers, so all this talk of how many champions the north possesses is definitely not exaggerated. Anyone defeating Lokala’i is someone to take seriously. Though also to be fair, he was specifically challenging champions rather than the average folk so it is a bit of a focused perspective. They seem to naturally respect him since he just walks around shirtless and barefoot in the snow. He is still a druid after all.
Caowei has been digging around for the strange flowers and found a few. We still don’t know what they’re for though.
The farmers however are not having much luck, they’ve never had to grow anything in this kind of cold. The ground is frozen. I’m not sure how to help them handle that. We could have the warriors punch the ground a few times maybe and loosen it up? I don’t know if that’ll solve the problem though.
The other winter preparations have reached a point of people not dying of cold at least. Still mighty uncomfortable and productivity rates are quite low. We’ve almost finished making enough blankets so that we can focus more on the production of winter clothes for those intending to wander out into the wilderness.
Which has led us to some notice from Caowei. While they do keep people warm enough to function for awhile out there, they will still need to find shelter now and then. So be wary of plans for more extended trips out into the cold. Exception to those who are naturally resistant to the cold.
The blue stone is a rock that is blue. Though more importantly it has properties that are useful in weapons, we have seen them in use within the grasslands though the secret to shaping them is unknown.
As for the sword, currently the dozen seem convinced it isn’t that useful due to its lack of range compared to the common spear.